Such A Sweet Face
by ShadTastic
Summary: "You're going to be just fine, princess." When an Akuma strikes, Ladybug and Chat Noir are on the job. But, when something happens to Ladybug, and Chat Noir is all alone in a crumbling building with a saddened Marinette, what's he to do when he has to deal with someone from his civilian life AND get them out before the building crushes them both? LadyNoir. Eventual Reveal.
1. Chapter 1

Such A Sweet Face CH.1

I'm not sure why I'm doing this, but with Twisted Passing nearing completion, I wanted a new story in a fandom that I've been apart of since last year.

I'm not REAL sure where I'm going to go with this, but I really wanted to contribute to the fandom. So, please don't be too hard on me, yeah?

So… Without further adue….

"Wow, trapped in a crumbling building with one of your town's superheros must be a sight. Pawsitively the best ending to the purrfect day, oui?"

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Adrien sighed when he felt water run down his nose, making him look up at the clouded sky with a grimace. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because of Plagg or not why he began to hate rain so much. Maybe, it was the nights endlessly patrolling as Chat Noir when it was pouring the rain had finally taken his role on him.

But, Ladybug was there so, Adrien assumed it made worth it.

Currently, Paris' said superhero was sitting through his own form of torture, modeling. Oh, how he hated it all. The constant posing, random diets he really didn't need, and the stupid photoshoots, like the one he was at now.

Not to mention how dark the sky was getting. How on earth was this man supposed to get a decent shot in a few minutes? It looked like the sky was caving in on itself.

With an disinterested sigh, Adrien placed his head on his hand and looked up to the cloudy sky, occasionally watching some droplets fall out of his view. His thoughts began to drift back to his partner. Her vibrant blue eyes, her adorable dark pigtails that contrasted nicely to the red in her suit. That smile that seemed to take his breath away each time he saw it.

Ahh, he was completely taken with her.

The photographer began to complain about the teen's lack of attention to his shots, but naturally Adrien wasn't even paying attention to his rantings. His mind already swept up in the wonder that was his Ladybug.

"Adrien! Adrien, would you please- Ugh. Pay ATTENTION!" The man's pleas went unheard by the teenager sitting on the stairway looking up at the sky. "Please! We need to get this done- It...It's beginning to rain!"

He felt himself smiling dreamily despite of the rain beginning to sprinkle from above. It dripped onto his chin, his cheeks, sometimes even his eyelids, but all Adrien could think about was the strong, confident, female superhero that ran atop buildings with him nearly everyday.

The photographer seemed to notice the boy's daydreaming expression and quickly wiped off the lense of his camera and set up a shot. "Goodness, don't you move! It's perfect! That dreamy look, that longing! Ahh~ The fan girls will LOVE this!"

Adrien felt a tug at his pant leg and subtly looked down to see the bright green eyes of his Kwami inside his schoolbag staring back up at him, his tiny face showing annoyance.

"Adrien, can't we go yet? I'm hungry and it's beginning to rain!" The cat creature pawed near Adrien's shoe making the teen subtly glance at the photographer who was still preparing the shot. Good, the man didn't see anything.

With a slight nod of his head, Adrien stood, grabbing his bag and placing it quickly onto his shoulders, just as he took his first step, a loud explosion emitted from across a row of buildings.

Both Adrien and the man looked back at the crumbling building bringing a cloud of dust and rubble with it as it fell. Screams echoed through the pavilion making Adrien's face twist in determination.

With haste, he quickly ran out of sight from anyone, choosing to change within an alleyway just to the left of the photo agent. He opened up his bag, allowing the black kwami to fly up to him with the same determination as his chosen.

"Plagg, claws out!"

As he lept up from the alley, as Chat Noir, of course, he briefly heard the photographer mourning about his missed shot.

He hoped Ladybug was on her way.

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"Marinette, this is totally your opportunity to get Adrien to notice you! Think about it! You, him, alone, at the masquerade ball next week. It'll be perfect! Plus, I heard that Ladybug and Chat Noir are going to be there too! Oh, this is going to be wonderful for my blog!" The tan friend squealed slightly at the thought, clutching her Ladybug themed phone close to her chest.

The pigtailed girl grinned nervously at her excited best friend, even scratching at the side of her face. "Alya, I don't really think a ball is for me… and...and ADRIEN? I mean, he has Chloe. Why would he want to go with someone like me?" She fiddled with her hands, looking at them sadly before her redheaded friend grabbed her shoulders.

Said best friend placed a hand on her hip and looked at the other. "Uh, because Adrien isn't attached at Chloe's hip. Come on, Marinette! Adrien would be lucky to go to that ball with you. Besides, it's not as if Chloe or Adrien will know who you are. " Alya leaned down with a terrible grin and whispered in the girl's ear. "That is unless you WANT him to know who you are ~" She gave Marinette an elbow to the side, playfully winking at her.

Marinette felt her face turn red at the statement and she gave her friend a light push in response. "No, no! If I'm going, I'm going completely incognito. No one is gonna know who I am. " At Alya's pout, she quickly added. "Except you, of course. "

Her redheaded friend smiled in response and adjusted her glasses. "Yeah yeah, of course. Anyway! I think we need to figure out some awesome costumes for this.. Think you can manage, Mari?"

The secret heroine perked at the idea of designing both hers and Alya's outfits. Obviously, she was going to design Alya's dress first so she wouldn't forget, then begin working on her own.

She knows for sure that if an Akuma or two show up it could hinder her time significantly on making their dresses. That's another reason she was doing Alya's first. So, if there was a chance she couldn't get both of them done, Alya would at least have hers to wear.

Her expression softened a bit with a hidden sadness as she beamed at her friend. "I can't wait, Alya. You're going to love it!"

"Oh, if it's YOUR design, I'm sure I will, Marinette! Now let's go get umbrellas. It's pouring out there." Marinette giggled at her friend's disgruntled look. She almost reminded her of Chat in this kind of weather.

Almost.

It was a good thing there were stands that dispensed cheap umbrellas when the city was expecting a rainstorm.

Just as they both got underneath the plastic umbrella a loud explosion rang somewhere out ahead of them.

Alya whistled at the noise, looking up at the darkened sky with a grin. "That's some loud sounding thunder, huh Marinette?"

The other, however, was hardly paying attention to the girl beside her, in favor of staring at the rising smoke coming from far away.

"That's not….thunder.."

Marinette ran out from under the cover of the umbrella and into the crowded city streets of Paris, ignoring the shouts from her friend behind her as she kept running.

When she deemed to be in a secluded place, far enough away from Alya or anyone else that could possibly see or hear her transformation, she opened her purse revealing the red polkadotted kwami that looked at her with a worried expression. The pigtailed teenager gave a small, reassuring smile to the other.

"Tikki! Spots on!"

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Chat Noir grunted as the cloaked akuma sent him face first into asphalt. Where on earth was Ladybug? This akuma was ruthless, and he couldn't even seem to find the item they needed to destroy! Not to mention the thing was completely insane...and LOUD.

Said akuma floated over to the superhero, who was currently removing his bruised face from the ground. He had yet to notice the other, who had arms clenched at its sides, glowing with some kind of energy.

Chat's ears twitched in a small warning as his nose scrunched in irritation, a sneak attack,huh? So, that's how it was going to play.

He waited until he felt the heat from whatever the thing was using before he flipped backwards delivering a wicked kick to the akuma's head. His heels slid on the roof of the crumbling building.

Thankfully, everyone had been evacuated long before Chat Noir had even gotten there. It seemed they saw the akuma long before it had attacked.

"Great." Chat Noir gritted out as he dodged several strikes from the akuma's own radiating claws. "This one's REALLY angry, what could have caused something like-"

The akuma made a noise, similar to a banshee's wail, making the cat superhero freeze and cover his ears with a groan.

The ground began cracking underneath the hero's feet, another floor caving in from the power. Chat shook his head, just waiting for the wail to end so he could bring the smack down on this akuma so it'll be ready when Ladybug DID get here.

When it did end, he found the ground was severely weaker than it was when the akuma had started. "Oh, just purrfect. Where is my Lady?"

A sudden zip line wrapped around the satellite tower, accompanied by the all familiar polkadotted yoyo. Well, there goes the plan. But, the sight made Chat relax a bit, enough to where the akuma caught him off guard and got a good nick at his left eye.

Happy that his mask had protected most of the blow, he swept out his leg and knocked the strange akuma off its….feet.

"Chat, Chat! I'm here!" Ladybug cried as she landed gracefully on the collapsing building roof. "I'm so sorry! I-... Chat, what on earth kind of Akuma IS this?! " She quickly got into a battle stance when the angered akuma turned its view to her, though its face and expression was hidden by the cloak wrapped around its form.

Chat jumped on the akuma's back as it began making its way towards the other, grunting when it screeched and flailed trying to throw him off. "I-I'm not sure, my Lady….But, i-it's REALLY strong! Whatever has happened, it-it has a lot more strength than the akumas we've fought before!"

The cat hero planted his feet as firmly into the concrete as he could without making it crumble under the force, and turned slightly to the look at the other. "My lady, try looking for the cursed item! I cannot see one! "

The female squawked in surprise, avoiding a stiff kick from the withheld person, and looked at the other. "You haven't found it yet? Normally were much faster than this! Is everyone out?" She asked while quickly beginning to scan the akuma for the item, without touching it, to avoid the radiating claws.

"Ou-Oui… Everyone has made it out before I had even got here. T-the p-police had informed me when I arrived. " Chat Noir's arms began to shake from the strain the akuma was putting him through. If he thought it was angry with him, it was clearly an understatement to how much it seemed INFURIATED with Ladybug here.

Which lead Chat to question to himself, why was it so fixated on her? This had to be someone they had met before, or maybe she reminded the akuma of whoever had upset her?

"Hold on just a bit longer, kitty. I can't find the item anywhere! " She got a bit closer to the akuma and reached to lift up the cloak wrapped tightly around the creature's form.

Just then Chat Noir's hold slipped, giving the akuma the opportunity to tackle the female heroine, its radiating claws making contact with her forearms as it knocked them both through the crumbling buildings floors.

"Chat!" Ladybug screamed in alarm as she fell down the levels with the strange akuma.

Chat Noir's head peeked out from the roof in slight panic. "Ladybug!" He instantly flipped himself gracefully down onto the next floor below him, peering down into the darkened hole made from the akuma's force as rain made its way in from the storm outside.

Thunder boomed from overhead making the entire building shake, and Chat felt a sense of panic enter him. What if something happens and they didn't make it out? What would happen to the rest of the Paris?

Pushing those unsettling thoughts into the back of his mind, the feline noticed the rain quickly soaking the under levels of the building, and down onto his already soaked form. The teenage hero felt his footing slip on the slick flooring, making him face plant once or twice on his way down to the third level.

No sign of the akuma, but the hole ended here so it must be somewhere, that meant his lady must be here, too.

He clicked a button on the side of his masking, hoping that the akuma's claws didn't damage them so bad he couldn't use his night vision.

Chat felt a sigh of relief leave him when his lenses glowed green allowing him sight in the darkening mess of broken parts, though there was a few pieces of the lenses missing. He stealthily made his way through the third level, flinching at the slightest sound, his ears twitching every so often.

It wasn't until he heard a small feminine whimper that he threw stealth all out the window and ran to the sound. "Ladybug! " He threw a hand up into the air, a dark energy circling around it as he struck it onto a rather large concrete slab that had fallen up against a closet door. "Cataclysm!"

The energy tore through the slab, reducing it to nothing but large chunks of rubble, but not so large that the teen couldn't move them.

He removed the rubble from the door in the office looking part of the floor, being careful of a couple of glass shards, and slammed open the door. "Ladybu-"

The superhero's eyes widened when he saw the form of not his Ladybug, but the one of his classmate. He thought he had been told that everyone had been evacuated before the akuma attacked. Chat sighed under his breath and let go of the door to quickly comfort his tear-streaked classmate.

"H-Hey.. Listen it's going to be okay, oui? I'll get you out safe and sound! " The feline gave his best 'cheerful' voice to the other, and cringed when they only seemed to cry harder.

Chat winced when the building gave a rather unpleasant creak, from the couple's sitting position. With a hesitant touch to the person's face he turned them to him and gave a dashing smile. "Listen, we need to get you outta here. There's no time to be a scaredy cat. I need you to be brave, okay, princess?"

The feline let out a breath when the other looked at him with such bright, hurt blue eyes. He eased his classmate into a standing position and guided her slowly out of the closet, despite her crying, she seemed to cope with the situation rather well. He's certainly had worse.

He knew this person. That's what made being a superhero so hard. When you see those you know break down, get hurt, or involved around your alter ego, knowing you could almost do literally nothing to stop it. He swallowed thickly, the dust from the mucky air beginning to get to him.

He glanced at the other to see how they were faring and saw them sadly glancing inside their purse, for some unknown reason. He furrowed his brow when they let out a hiccup from the sight of it empty.

With a gentle squeeze of the other's hand, Chat Noir lead them stealthily through the corridors, still technically looking for the akuma and Ladybug, but, mainly getting his classmate to safety.

"C-Chat … What are you d-doing..?" The crying girl looked up at him with those doe eyes, filled with small tear droplets that made them look so much prettier than they normally were and-

Whoah, calm down, kitty-cat. You have a love, remember? Though he couldn't help but feel his heart clench at the thought of his classmate being so sad, or frightened, Chat wasn't particularly sure on the fact.

This particular classmate that is.

Adrien would probably never admit it to her face, he wasn't that brave without the mask, but she had always held a small section of his heart.

He looked down at her trembling form and pulled her to him in a quick ' you're going to be okay' hug and smiled softly at her.

"It's all going to be fine, alright, princess? Just bear with me right meow." He gave her and gentle squeeze, ignoring the way her body felt almost familiar against his, and reached down to hold onto her hand again.

Her shy demeanor, her garbled sentences around only him had seemed so endearing at the time, but now, seeing his classmate so broken made him regret even having known her in civilian life. Because, now she wasn't the only one who was broken.

The innocent, the kind, the gentle Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She nodded her head up at him, letting out a shaky sigh and holding onto his hand like a lifeline.

Which, in a sense, it was.

Chat took notice of the girl's soaked form, watching her shake probably from the cold, or fear. Most likely both. He really wished there was a clothing department somewhere in the building so he could find a jacket or shirt for her to wear. He felt bad by the way she was trembling, using one of her arms to cover her chest. Most likely to hide her now exposed anatomy that was obviously showing through her tank top and sports bra.

The hero bit his lip as they rounded a corner, knowing that the akuma could just be around the other side waiting for a sneak attack. Only this time, he couldn't think just about his own safety, but Marinette's now too.

He felt the girl squeeze his hand tighter and let out another small hiccup from behind him. Chat shook his head sadly, trying to resist to comfort the girl in such a dangerous situation.

Thunder boomed from overhead, making the building violently shake once again and Chat's ears perked at the sound of rubble falling through the large hole further back.

Marinette looked backed as well, hearing the debris falling onto their floor from above. She let out a small gasp from the building shaking under their feet from the impact.

They didn't have much time…

The warning beep of Chat's ring only proved that fact.

With a shuddering sigh, he turned and gently placed his hands onto the girl's shoulders, a small, gentle smile etched onto his face.

"You're my brave Princess, oui? " At the girl's shaky nod, the superhero continued. "Then I need you to do something super important for me, moi lovely. I know you are frightened and sad, and though I'm not sure as to why on the last part, it is very important that we remain quiet right meow. " He whispered to the other teen, choosing to shift his gaze to the open corridor to their left.

Marinette gave another nod, nibbling on her bottom lip and looking down at her feet. "Okay.." She whispered as quietly as she could when she noticed the other's attention was elsewhere.

Chat Noir's ears twitched from a sound a little ways down the next hallway, making him immediately grab hold of Marinette's small hand and squeeze it in urgency. "Good. " He all but breathed out, almost inaudibly.

Where the heck was the akuma anyway? They definitely should have been able to hear the thing by now, yet the only sounds were their own footsteps, fallen debris, and the storm raging outside.

The male let out a huff, blowing a few strands of wandering hair out of his face and leaned against the wall of their spot. Debating on whether or not they should move in the direction of the noise, it could be Ladybug, after all, or continue their careful descent to the first floor, was certainly taking a role on Chat Noir's mind.

On one hand, reuniting with Ladybug right now would be amazing, mainly because she could get Marinette out of the building quicker with her yo-yo, since the best he could do right now is jump out a third story window with her, and he doubted Marinette was in a good mental state to handle that. Plus, while Ladybug would be doing that, Chat could distract the akuma.

On the other hand though, if they went down the stairwell and encountered the akuma there they'd be cornered, and Chat didn't like the feeling of being trapped in a cage. He was a cat after all.

Another sound, similar to a few rocks splashing into a puddle resounded from down the corridor on their left. Luckily, with the angle of the walls they were left unseen to whatever may be down that path.

The feline's ears twitched again, this time the sound of bubbles popping, once again from the corridor to the left sounded. There was definitely something getting closer to them down that hallway and Chat Noir moved a hand through his hair, nervously wondering what he could do.

He turned and held onto the other's shoulders, a nervous smile evident on his lips. "Stay here for a sec, okay, Mar- er princess?"

At her hesitant nod followed by a small sniffle, Chat grinned and patted her shoulder then snuck over to the edge of the wall, peering over only when the noise on the other side stopped.

Instantly, he saw the shadowed face of the akuma and was thrown back down the hallway, breaking the wall from the impact, as the akuma came past Marinette's hiding spot, not noticing her gasp, Chat rose from the rubble on top of him.

"Go, Go! Down the stairs!" He motioned frantically to the stairs ahead of the girl, just across the opening. The akuma turned to look at Marinette and let out a loud scream when it saw her.

This time, however, the superhero grabbed ahold of the akuma from behind and held with as much strength as he could muster. He leaned over so he could look at his classmate, who froze at the screech.

Through gritted teeth and and shaking arms, he motioned with his head to the stairwell. "Go. GO NOW! HURRY!"

Marinette seemed hesitant at first, but then made a run for it down the stairs, the akuma screeching the whole time, another beep from Chat Noir's ring following soon after.

The building shook with each scream, more rubble falling all around the other two as the girl ran out of the first floor door and was immediately grabbed by police officers who led her behind some safety tape.

The screams of the akuma could be heard from outside as the building finally began colasping one floor at a time. People outside could feel their hearts drop at the fact that no one had seen their faved superheros exit the building, after saving the day.

The sounds of the akuma screaming eerily inside did nothing to calm their nerves.

At last, the building caved in on itself and colasped completely before the citizens of Paris. Smoke and dust flowed out of the crumbled building as it now lay only in concreted pieces.

No more sounds were heard from the remains.

The crying form of Marinette could be seen reaching towards the building, rain pouring down on all without an umbrella, and thunder boomed loudly overhead. Though, all the girl could hear was the voice of Chat assuring her they'd be okay.

She rubbed her eyes as the tears came as she screamed out into the rainstorm.

"Chat!"

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Don't kill me please.

It's only just begun.

Until next time, lovelies.


	2. Chapter 2

SASF CH.2: My Love Grows Each Passing Day.

"Life without love is a life not worth living, my Lady."

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Marinette stared silently at the back corner of the ambulance she was in. Her eyes were red and stung from the stream of tears that had been constantly flowing since the collapse.

Her heart had been shattered twice in that short amount of time in the building.

One. Her partner. Her friend, Chat Noir was crushed under the rubble with an unidentified akuma. Of course, many people tried getting Ladybug and him out, not knowing she wasn't in there, but they could find no trace of him in the giant pile of rubble that was once a four storied office complex. Marinette had felt her heart fall into her stomach at the news.

Two. Her beloved companion, Tikki, was gone, and she didn't even know how. She remembered those few short seconds like they had literally just happened. Which they had only happened a few hours ago, but still. Yet, she had no way of knowing how it happened the way it did.

The second the akuma had tackled her into the building, she felt her heart skip a beat, with a frightened distressed shout, she reached toward her partner quickly fading in the darkness.

"Chat!" She cried as she fell and fell and fell down the levels of the building until they both finally collided with pavement below.

Ladybug let out a cry from the pain that erupted from her spine and pushed the strange akuma off of her. She thanked her lucky stars for super healing and shakily got up on her feet.

"Okay, akuma, you're going down!" She quickly got into a battle stance as the akuma roared at her, one of its clawed hands glowing brightly with energy, and Ladybug spared a glance at the hand wearily before backing up away from them as it striked.

The superhero grunted, narrowly missing the attacks as they whizzed past her face, her hair blowing back from the force behind them. She grit her teeth, forcing her body to twist and shift in awkward ways to make sure she dodged the strikes.

She could feel the heat of the akuma's claws as they got closer and closer.

Eventually, her dodging wasn't enough as she needed Chat to create a diversion so she could think up a plan. Where on earth was that silly cat?

The akuma landed a hit on her leg, tearing into the fabric of her costume and leaving three deep gashes across it.

Ladybug cried out in pain, taking only a second to hold onto it, giving it her attention before turning to look at the akuma, small tears gathering in her eyes from the sting.

Suddenly, she felt a tingle run down her leg, with a gasp she ignored the akuma in favor of watching as her costume slowly began to dissipate from the wound on her leg, it disappeared bit by bit until she was standing there as Marinette Dupain-Cheng instead of where Ladybug had once been.

She felt a wave of panic begin to overtake her as she started to breath heavily, fearfully looking at the akuma that had let out a loud screech at the sight of her.

The building shook from underneath them, making Marinette shudder from an overwhelming dread. They REALLY didn't have much time.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir's voice sounded from far above them.

Marinette only looked up at the direction of his voice for a moment before she was knocked down the hallway by a kick to her stomach.

She rolled down the hall, rubble scraping against her frame harshly as she finally began slowing down. Her face ached and her body was now incredibly sore.. Sliding to a stop on the inside of an opened closet door, Marinette quickly got to her feet, despite the numb feeling spreading throughout her body.

Adrenaline.

She was terrified, and her heavy breathing was an obvious giveaway. Her chest ached from the excessive breathing she had been doing, and her whole body felt like it had been pulled through a carwash.

When she saw the akuma's shadowed face appear in the doorway, she felt her hammering heart skip a beat.

With a screech the akuma went to lunge at her and Marinette prepared for the impact, that is until the building shook with a bit more force than usual, knocking large chunks of concreted rubble out in front of the akuma.

The evilized person let out a screech of pain, immediately drawing its hand back away from the pile quickly closing the schoolgirl in. It glared one last time before running off into the dark hallway to their left.

"No! Wait...Let me OUT!" She cried from the other side of the rubble. She began to feel the tears fall down her cheeks, dripping to the floor of the small closet she was in.

The light flickered overhead, creating an eerie feel, and only the sounds of the building groaning all around the once-heroine was heard. Marinette swallowed thickly, deciding to stop panicking for a bit to try and find an escape.

There had to be an alternative exit, right? The door was definitely out, but maybe there was a vent of sorts she could squeeze through?

...And after about five minutes of searching, Marinette gave up. With a shaky sigh she lowered herself to the floor in the very back of the closet, duly noting the glass shards that were littered on the ground all around her.

She felt a small whimper slip through her lips as she curled up into herself.

In the distance she heard a noise, a loud splash. Was the akuma coming back? She certainly hoped not.

"Ladybug!" She heard far in the depths of the crumbling building. Chat.

Marinette cried when she realized Chat might put two and two together and discover her identity. He'll be so disappointed. She whimpered again from the saddening thoughts.

She heard his rapid footsteps come up to the door, immediately followed by the use of his miraculous.

"Cataclysm!" He was right by the door now. Soon after the sound of his bad luck eating away the rubble and his fluent kicks pushing them away.

He swung open the door a second later, frantic to find his beloved partner. "Ladybu-" She saw his emerald eyes widen, briefly noting that his mask was in night vision mode and was also cracked next to his eye. Though, Marinette couldn't tell if he was hurt or not.

Those short flashes of the events prior to the collapse made Marinette all the more depressed with the situation.

He did all he could to save her, to protect her. He always did, even when she was Ladybug. But, this.. this was different.

He wasn't going to come back with a witty remark with this one.

He was gone.

...and it was all her fault.

Her chest tightened uncomfortably to the point of her pressing a hand to it with a small gasp.

He was gone. He was dead.

THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM.

Marinette felt tears fall down her cheeks again as a sob wracked her frame. Her body shook, her lips quivered, and her eyes screwed shut.

It wasn't like her partner was the only one gone, Tikki was now missing as well. Whatever that akuma did when she was Ladybug had made Tikki disappear.

Two of her closest friends and companions. Gone.

Who's next? Alya? Her mother and father?

The teen sighed, running a hand through her frayed pigtails, almost irritated by the situation she was in.

The akuma was an unknown person, due to the cloak, they have-..she has no idea who they are, meaning it will be that much harder to find the item with the akuma in it. Not to mention, Tikki and Chat Noir weren't here.

What...was she going to do?

Her eyes watered, threatening to overflow again. What WAS she going to do? Without them...she was nothing. She was just plain old Marinette now.

She barely noticed the back doors of the ambulance opening, and the frantic ramblings of her mother reaching her ears as she was quickly enveloped in a hug.

Her father was trying to be strong, while her mother just looked so relieved as she cried on her daughter's shoulder.

"Oh, Marinette! We're so glad you're safe! We were so worried. Alya said she couldn't find you and when we saw you coming out of that building..we.." The rest of her mother's sentence was inaudible due to her burying her face into the teenager's shoulder again and sobbing.

"Dear, we...We've been thinking about moving for a while now..but this..this is the finality point. Marinette, we're leaving Paris." Her father stated sternly, trying to hide his own fear.

What. "B-But, Papa! What about the bakery? My friends? We've lived in Paris my whole life!" She felt like crying when her father simply turned away, her mother finally removing herself from her daughter's shoulder.

"Papa, we can't move!" Paris wouldn't be able to defend themselves from the akuma attacks! And Hawkmoth, he would win!

She can't let her grief still her duty as Ladybug. Kwami or not, right now, Paris needs her more than ever.

Her mother shook her head, eyes tired and puffy from her crying. "Marinette, we can't stay here with all this chaos happening! It's not safe. " She rubbed her hand against her daughter's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

However, this did not have the intended reaction.

Marinette was quickly reminded of the building when Chat had turned, stilling their walking once he had heard her hiccup, placed his hands gently on her shoulders and gave his dashing smile. He flashed those vibrant green eyes at her for the last time and said 'You'll be okay. I promise you will make it out alright, Pr-'

"-Princess.." She muttered softly to herself as tears overflowed once again. She hiccuped, startling her parents when she suddenly let out and anguish filled sob.

"M-Marinette?" Sabine said softly, retracting her hand as quickly as it had come and stared at her daughter while sneaking a worried look at her husband, who looked just as confused.

The teenager curled into herself again,placing her head on her arms, hiding her face from her worried parents.

She heard the doors slam open once again, not even realizing they were closed before, and the garbled sentences spouted from her friend.

"Marinette! Oh my goodness, girl!" Alya ran over to the other, after a brief interaction with her parents to which they simply nodded.

The friend bounded over to the upset teen and hugged her close. "Mari, oh my gosh, I was so worried about you.. When you just ran away towards that building..I.. " She sighed and rubbed the girl's arm. "I'm sorry all of this has happened. This is all my fault... if I had ran after you.."

Marinette jumped up from the statement, a frustrated red blush on her cheeks. "You- Ah! It's not your fault!"

Her mother stepped closer to her, hesitant to touch her daughter after the last time. "Marinette...We've made up our mind.. We can't have you being put in danger anymore. You could've gotten ki-"

"But, I didn't, mom! But someone else did! Someone who does everything to protect Paris! Someone who saved me!" The bluenette turned, beyond frustrated by her situation and angrily addressed the older woman.

"I can't leave here when people need help!"

"Marinette, what on earth do you-"

"No, mom! I'm not leaving here! Not after what happened to-... What happened to Chat Noir. " She looked to the floor at that, standing up from her position with a newfound determination.

"I'm not going anywhere when there's people who need my help."

And with that, Marinette ran out of the ambulance, still on the site of the collapsed building. She ignored the calls from her mother and father, and the ones from her best friend.

She didn't care. She ran and ran, moving herself as swiftly as she could with her small injuries.

She didn't stop, no matter how much her chest ached and her body hurt, she ran until she couldn't no more.

It was late by the time she collapsed behind an old bake shop, not unlike her parents, and stared up at the sky.

The rain, thankfully, had slowed to more of a sprinkle, it lightly falling onto her already well-soaked form.

Marinette felt like dying.

Dying so the pain in both her body and mind would go away. She began to think it would never go away.

To this day, Ladybug had denied any feelings other than platonic for the cat-suited hero. To this day..she had claimed her love for Adrien to be the only one that claimed her heart..

But on this day, Marinette realized that it didn't work that simply anymore.

She loves Chat Noir. She loved him.

Yet, she never told the cat superhero of her ever growing affections. Mainly because she'd never hear the end if it. What she wouldn't give to hear him call her his lady one last time.

She shivered on the ground, as the cold night air hit her small form

"What..What am I going to do without you?"

Did he feel or was he in any kinda pain before he..before he went? Was he happy, sad? Did he feel scared, probably.

She remembered seeing his mask broken on one side, letting Marinette know that Chat's eyes were actually a vibrant green like his mask allowed her to see. Maybe it wasn't too bad, but she briefly saw a cut just below his left eye. Most likely from the material of his mask breaking.

Marinette ran a few fingers to her now loose blue hair, hating the fact that she had to go home at some point.

She sat up, a bit wobbly, but steady enough and looked at her surroundings. She saw the rundown shop and lifted a brow. Maybe she wouldn't have to go home after all.

With shaky legs, she made her way in through the broken window to the side. If she could just get out of these damp clothes.

After stumbling around for a few minutes she was able to find some old employee uniforms in the back room and sighed with relief when she peeled the wet clothes from her cold self.

They felt oddly warm compared to the clothes she had been wearing and she happily snuggled into them. Then, after doing some more searching she found some things suitable for creating a makeshift bed for herself.

She thought for a moment if this was all worth it, staying here when she would have an actual bed at home to use and clothes to wear.

Her stomach garbled loudly.

Food to eat, especially.

She shook her head, expelling the thoughts from her mind. She was being selfish. Paris needed her here, even if she could.t be Ladybug at the moment. But, Chat wasn't here to protect it for her so it had to be her.

She was the only one capable of getting rid of the akuma residing within the poor person they had encountered. At one point, Marinette wondered who the mysterious evilized person could be. She and Chat certainly had no idea, but the thing seemed to be fixated on her.

Marinette shuddered at the thought of it finding her again when she was completely defenceless.

Still, she wrapped her counter sheet tighter around herself, school, should she go? Would it be wise to go? She certainly needed the interaction.

But would her parents come and take her home?

She knew it was a risky gamble, people were probably looking for her now. But, for some reason, there was a tingling on the back of her neck, a sign she has long since known as her body's way of showing her what she needs. Call it super intuition.

She felt this need to go to school tomorrow, this indescribable pull. Like there was something there she had to see.

So, with the tingling aside she had to go tomorrow. No matter the consequences. SOMETHING was going on, and the akuma was probably apart of it. But, her intuition had never steered her wrong before.

Marinette felt the fatigue overcome her, the stress of the events earlier weighing too much on her fragile mind. So, she slept away through the night, not waking up sometime as she normally would, despite the makeshift bed she was using. It wasn't very comfortable.

It was the early hours of morning when Marinette woke up again, she sat up, groaning at her sore back and neck. As she stood, she stretched herself out, wincing when her limbs popped from the strain.

Just as the sun was coming up beyond the horizon did Marinette realize the dire situation she was in.

She turned the black work uniform inside out to make sure the name wouldn't show and tried fixing her hair at least a bit presentable before looking down at her bag, laying by her clothes. Her tablet was in there, fully charged and off so thankfully the battery wasn't going to die anytime soon.

She reached in and turned it on, needing to check the time. When it finally turned on she received a buttload of messages from her family and Alya, even some from Nino. But, none from Adrien, which Marinette wouldn't admit, hurt her a bit. She ignored the messages in favor of looking at the clock, 7:24 A.M.

Not too early for going to school. In all honesty though, Marinette was just glad she wasn't late for once.

As quickly as she had turned it on, Marinette switched off the tablet again. Placing it in her purse once she strapped it to her side.

It may be unwise to go to school when she didn't want to be found, and she continued to think that while she made her way up to the double doors, ignoring the looks of passersbys when she walked into the hallway.

Since she knew she wasn't going to smell the best, given yesterday and no shower today, Marinette went into the girl's bathroom to at least wash her hands and face. She was definitely lucky that the uniform she was wearing just barely covered the cuts she received on her arms.

She was washing the grime off of her face when she heard an obnoxious voice coming into the bathroom. One that could only belong to the one and only Chloe Bourgeois.

"-and he hasn't even answered me ONCE! I mean, what kind of boyfriend does that?!" The mayor's daughter came bounding into the bathroom, just missing Marinette, who hid inside a stall the last second.

The small, feeble voice of her satellite, Sabrina responded. "But, Adrien...he isn't TECHNICALLY your boyfriend, is he? I mean...He doesn't seem to act like you two are together. " Marinette could almost see the way the girl's fingers would play with each other in her nervous way.

"Please! Whose side are you on anyway? Adrien is my boyfriend because only the rich and beautiful can get together with someone who is also rich and beautiful. It's just the facts! Not that YOU'D know anything about them." Chloe waved her hand at the red headed girl and then pouted at her.

"But, he still hasn't returned anything I've sent him! No texts, calls, invites… Nothing! It's driving me insane! I tried calling his father but he's been away on business and his secretary won't give me any kind of answers! Ugh!" She slapped her arm, bracelets jingling from the movement.

"What am I going to do about Adrien ignoring me?! I need ideas, Sabrina!" Chloe turned to her 'friend' and raised a manicured eyebrow. "Helllooo?"

Marinette felt her eyes roll from the ridiculous behaviour that made Chloe herself. She leaned against the stall, pressing her ear against it to hear them a bit better. Adrien was missing?

Her Adrien was missing?

The teen felt tears well up in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away.

A warning bell echoed through the school and Marinette heard the groan of Chloe and the nervous whimper from Sabrina follow soon after.

"If he doesn't show up for class, I'm calling daddy to send out search parties. " The mayor's daughter huffed and stomped out of the bathroom, her satellite soon after.

Marinette exited the stall, looking at the exit with a soft look. Adrien, huh? She didn't believe it.

As she redid her ponytails, she looked into her own eyes in the mirror. They were almost dull now, a lifeless grey compared to the crystal blue they were before.

She wore a more determined face when she finished tightening her ties and stared at herself.

"You..are Ladybug. " She mouthed silently, glaring at her reflection. "Dont act like such a child." She said aloud and stalked out of the restroom and down the hall.

If Adrien was in trouble, powers or not, Marinette was going to save him.

She walked into the classroom, instantly noting that neither Nino or Alya were there, as the tardy bell rang, Marinette took her seat.

She laid her head on her hand and boredly stared up at the board.

Chloe, however, had finally got her nose out of her powder to notice what she was wearing and sneered. "Nice outfit, loser. Find it in the dumbster? Seriously, you think you can save some trash for the res-"

The sound of the door slamming open startled everyone in the room, including Chloe and the teacher just preparing the lecture.

"-of….us?" She finished slowly, staring wide eyed at the figure making their way across the room, completely ignoring the entire class' eyes on them.

They sat down next to a confused Marinette and sat back in the chair comfortably as if they owned it.

"It..can't be.." Sabrina started timidly.

"A-Adrien?" Marinette stated, staring at the teen cautiously.

Said boy turned and looked at the girl beside him, once again completely ignoring everyone else and gave her an off smile. His eyes took on a darker tint than the vibrant green the girl was used to admiring. He was looking over at Marinette with an odd stare.

Everything about this seemed off, Marinette concluded.

"Why hello there, Marinette!"

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It's done! Sorry about the wait! Tbh, it's been an off and on process.

SO WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING? OHOHO

See you next time! -ShadTastic


	3. Chapter 3

SASF ch. 3 : Evil in a Veil.

Sorry for the long wait. Lots of things have been happening. But, I promise I have actually thought of plot for the story. This technically is a made up akuma. Obviously. But, there won't be anymore.

Some spoilers this chapter regarding Hawk Moth's identity. Like… immediately.

"Where there is great love, there is always miracles." - Willa Sibert Cather

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"Honestly, Gabriel. I expected you to react more. Especially seeing how your own son had been Chat Noir the whole time. You seem like you're brushing it off. "

Gabriel Agreste, otherwise known as Hawk Moth, glowered at the akuma taking his son's body hostage. He grit his teeth at the side of the wide smirk spread across his face.

"I am reacting just FINE, Morphina. I'm busy, and YOU have a job to do with bringing me Ladybug's miraculous!" The man slammed his hand down on the desk the akuma was currently sitting on and glared up at them.

Morphina narrowed Adrien's bright green eyes at him and slid off the desk. "You're bottling it in. That's not good for you, you know." They stated simply, giving a smug smile towards him before walking over and lounging on one of many couches in the fashion director's office and sighed. "Adrien would feel better if you talked about it." They muttered.

The older man almost relented, eye's widening at the mention of his son's feelings, he quickly snapped out of it and frowned at the akuma sprawled across a couch. "There is nothing to discuss and A..Adrien should know this. " He trailed off, breaking his gaze away from his son's form and suddenly found the paperwork on his desk interesting.

He could feel the akuma's gaze on him and he did a good job of ignoring it, until it spoke. "You should know by now when to admit you are wrong, Mr. Agreste. Adrien is very upset with you, even I am beginning to get frustrated at your lack of attention to this situation. Are you even going to continue being Hawk Moth with Ladybug's power sealed away and Chat Noir's in your grasp? Would there even be a point now..?"

With his head still down, the father replied. "I had people I had to protect, Morphina. Same as anyone, the point is I needed the power to do it. I didn't realize so many things were already out of hand by then. " He ran a hand through his greying hair and sighed. "What have I done..?"

The akuma was now sitting up part ways off the couch to lean closer to him. "So.. What are you going to do now..?" They asked, studying his reaction when the man tensed a bit in his seat.

Gabriel finally looked up, staring into his son's emerald eyes and felt the guilt wash over him. He bit it back down and his gaze hardened once more. "Same as before. Bring me Ladybug's miraculous, Morphina! With Chat Noir out of the way, it should be a lot easier. "

Said akuma huffed and slowly fell back on the couch, slouching with a small pout. "You say that as if it wasn't easy before..and you're still avoiding all of the situation. Your son is Chat Noir, Gabriel Agreste. You need to acknowledge that before you both go insane. "

The man simply glared over at the akuma again. "BRING me her miraculous! It's why you were given power in the first place! Besides… Think about how much harder it'll be now that Ladybug's powers are sealed away? She wont be running around in a bright red spandex suit anytime soon. How are you going to find her?"

Morphina scowled, crossing their arms over their chest. "I have my ways. Have some faith in me. Or at the very least a little confidence. Besides.. I already have a clue as to who she is."

"Really? Who?" The designer prodded, only to receive a wink in response. "What? You won't tell me?"

The akuma grinned and placed a finger to their lips. "My lips Are sealed, Mr. Agreste. It'll be a surprise for everyone." Morphina walked over to the back of the room and grabbed Adrien's backpack, slinging it over their shoulder before looking back at the father. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to school."

Gabriel watched as the akuma turned and walked back out of the room. He sighed shortly after, once again running his hands through his hair.

What had he done?

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Marinette blinked at the boy she has had a crush on since the beginning of the year. His eyes were slightly darker than what she remembered them being, but that could be summed up to a rough night or lack of sleeping.

She gave a small, petite wave and gel her shoulders hunker in her embarrassment. It was times like this she wished Alya was here, even though it was a selfish thought after the stunt she pulled yesterday.

"H-...Hi, Adrien. I thought… I thought you were…" She stammered, only getting about halfway through before she bit her lip and looked away.

Adrien tilted his head at her reaction, then after a bit of eyeing her earrings she now exposed to him, he grinned. "I'm fine, Marinette. Though...I'm more worried about you. Are YOU okay?"

Said girl whipped her head back around, her pigtails nearly hitting her in the face from it. "Me? Well, I'm fine…" She absentmindedly twirled a piece of her hair.

The model furrowed his brows and leaned closer, just as the teacher walked in. "Didn't you...Uh. Weren't you evolved in the battle with the akuma, last time? I heard you came out just minutes before the building collapsed…"

Marinette felt her breath catch in her throat at the mention of the events that happened yesterday. Her mind trailed to Chat Noir, making her let out a slight whimper and look away once more. "Y-...Yeah I was. Chat Noir saved me…"

The akuma blinked, not gaining any information from that, and was about to ask another question when the teacher in the front of the room called out to them.

"Socialize outside of class, hm?" She said gesturing to them.

Adrien saw Marinette shrink down in her seat and couldn't help but smile. 'This girl couldn't be Ladybug. She was too timid.'

The teen's nose crinkle at another thought. ' Althoughhh, it could just be how she acts out of the mask. Adrien is a fine example afterall.'

The akuma spared a glance at the girl from the corner of their eye and 'So could she really be..?'

Shaking his head, Adrien turned and pretended to pay attention to the teacher blabbing on in the front of the room. Trying to focus and succeeding for some time.

'If she was..is.. then she'll die.' The akuma frowned and resisted the urge to turn and look at the other again. But, he did glance over at the preppy blonde girl at the front of the room.

She was passing notes to a redhead sitting beside her and scowling when she took too long answering.

It wasn't until the teacher saw and took the note that the akuma found another alternative.

"Chloe, Sabrina. Mind telling me just what you two were doing passing notes in class?" The female asked them, holding the folded piece of paper up.

The blonde jumped out of her seat and pointed to Sabrina. "It was HER, teacher! I'm an innocent victim in all of this!"

Sabrina gasped and placed a hand over her chest, angrily glaring at the rich girl while the teacher shook her head.

"I watched you, Chloe. You're not as innocent as you claim to be. Besides.." She unfolded the note and looked it over before pointing to a part and showing the mayor's daughter. "...isn't this YOUR handwriting?"

Chloe scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Isn't it MY dad that controls your paycheck?"

The akuma narrowed their eyes at the blonde girl before taking another glance at Marinette. They were sure she was Ladybug. But, they could feel how Adrien felt about her. She was one of the boy's best friends, one of his only friends. And, if she truly was Ladybug, then the akuma knew that the boy loved her as well.

Now, why would the akuma care? Simple, this akuma had known the boy since before he was even born.

Before when they fought both Ladybug and Chat Noir, their form was not capable of speech, so the akuma used their wails as a form of an attack.

When they had seen Ladybug, they knew they would need to take her out first since she was the one who purified the akumas. That's why they were almost certain that Marinette was Ladybug.

They already knew Adrien was Chat Noir a few months before as well as the boy's chauffeur.

So they didn't want to hurt Adrien by killing this girl. So..

The akuma looked back at Chloe and a smile stretched across Adrien's face.

What about HER?

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Slightly short chapter, but I wanted to hurry and get it out.

MHUAHAHAHA

Until next time -ShadTastic


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